forameus

The real disappointment about the episodic plan is that it wasn't supposed to be like that. Games like the Telltale ones work episodic because they're built from the start to be that. Hitman was built to be a full game, but close to the end of development the developers decided that this episodic fad everyone's interested in would be a great idea, and increase profits. Absolute pish.

That's what's so annoying about it. With one tiny change, they could turn this all around with Reigns. It seems like almost a lock that he's going to win, and very likely that they'll paint it as the big underdog, and super-face that has just won the title. Instead, they could have it go that way right up until he wins it, then move to a more natural fit for Reigns personally - either do it at WM and have him turn on the Rock if he comes down, or have him turn on the fans at WM or on RAW the next night. I know they're not going to want this guy to be a heel, but if they do it right, you're still going to have the same fans cheering him, only the boos he's going to inevitably get will actually be directed at his character rather than how he's getting pushed. It's why I think that there must be something planned. Not as huge as HHH retaining or anything, but something more than just a straight clean victory for Reigns. They always bring something out for WM, even if it's right at the last moment.

It's still by no means the bear-pit of smarks that it's sometimes made out to be. He's going to get a mixed but very loud reaction, edging towards the negative. I remember his 31 entrance being similar. The night after at RAW though...if he goes over clean playing the superman, his inauguration as Champion will be shat upon from all over the place.

They're also backing themselves into a corner if they go through with Reigns winning. Who does he then go up against at the next few PPVs? Presumably they'll go full-on bore and keep him face, so it won't be Ambrose. Even if they do have him go up against Ambrose, surely they won't have him drop the belt after a month or two. Of course, they'll probably turn Dean heel then sit perplexed as he's cheered over their hand-picked face.

Again I've just read the write-ups, but Creative seem to be going to WM31 levels of apathy in the build. They seem to think that just pushing Reigns back in, having him beat HHH down will automatically make everything better. It won't, and it hasn't. Was it Henry, Swagger and the Usos that pulled him off HHH at the end? Perfect opportunity to have him go for them too and then keep going, and at least do something interesting. But no. And before that Shane and Taker do nothing really to advance their match. WM is going to be good, that's assured, but it seems like Creative think that way too. They could have made it great, but seem to settle for it just being good with them putting in as little effort as possible.

Ah, sorry, my mistake. It wasn't a quest. Actually, that's quite an odd thing too - they put a hell of a lot of story into the area compared to others, but you're right, they didn't actually surround it in a quest. Weird.

Yeah, got that too. I chose the option to start with a level 30 character, thinking I'd be alright, but it was pretty difficult.

I found the Dunwich Borers mission one of the better ones actually, as at least they tried to put something into the quest other than "go here-kill this-come back for reward". Found myself more drawn into that one than most other missions. It's just a shame that there aren't more like that - there's a few towards the end that were written out as full, storied quests, but the vast majority I find myself doing are just the bland radiant quests to keep you busy. I'm nearing the end now I think...

End of April is rumoured as of yesterday. Sounds like they're wanting to get it out the door so they can start concentrating more on their next new game. I never did get that far into Blood and Wine when it was released. Think I got to the first big monster, and it repeatedly battered through me every single time. Planning to go right back to the start and do another playthrough, complete it using that. There was a good example last night when I was playing Fallout 4. No direct spoilers, but there was a fairly major character dieing. I get the feeling it was supposed to be this huge, emotional moment, but the wanderer and the soon-to-be-dead traded comments, then there was an unintentionally funny final line before they just slumped down dead against the wall. Compare that to the Witcher, and the difference is clear. I posted a few pages back about my favourite side quest in the game where you had to get a black pearl for a guy whose wife had been lost to dementia. That quest - which probably took about 20 minutes - has more emotional impact and better writing than any moment in Fallout 4. Bethesda built a fantastic game world, put a whole load of effort into it, and then added some great things around the edges to give a wide (but not particularly deep) game. They then spent very little time comparatively in filling out what happened in the World beyond "go here, kill this, get reward". It's a shame, because they're definitely capable of something great. It's clear ProjektRed put a lot of effort into crafting the entire experience. They put time into voice acting, they put time into the story, and they put time into making sure that every quest had its own little quirks. I never really thought at any time like I was just performing filler quests. Everything seemed like it mattered. It's a truly wonderful game.

Tonight's episode is going to be wholly dedicated to the 2-out-of-3 falls match between Zayn and Samoa Joe. Should be a wonderful match, despite the ending being obvious if you've read spoilers for Takeover. When has there ever been a WWE product where they've given an entire episode over to one match? I know RAW is 3 hours, so that's unrealistic, but it's pretty rare for them to do something like this.

Isn't he off-screen because he's recovering from surgery? The real surgery that was covered up by the fake surgery. He'll be back on RAW on Monday, where he'll get one over on HHH, then the next two weeks it'll be the other way around leading up to Reigns winning at WM.

He won't be back at Roadblock. HHH will retain through either a disqualification or some other shenanigans, but Reigns won't be there. They'll get that match out of the way, and he'll be back on RAW.

While I'm usually spitefully against 4-4-2, Pogba and Doolan would be good together. The problem is that I don't think we have the players behind them to make it work. If our midfielders got up to support whoever the lone striker is more then Pogba's knockdowns would probably be more effective.

Would be good if they went out on a limb and kept Owens vs Zayn, but added a Money in the Bank match for others not on the card. Maybe even make it for a shot at the Intercontinental, rather than the WWE title. That way you get a lot of people onto the card, with a tangible prize on offer. Of course it might then dilute the actual Money in the Bank PPV, but then theming PPVs was always a terrible idea anyway.

The round-up of RAW on Bleacher Report seemed to suggest it was a pretty good one, at least by the matches themselves. Ambrose looking strong on the go-home eliminates the tiny possibility that he might go over at Roadblock - just a question of how they book it now. Are we now getting Jericho vs Styles again at WM? That'd be so very meh. It'll be a good match, but...meh. Zayn vs Owens should be good though, presumably that's now a lock, unless they just throw him into a multi-man.

I can't remember who it was that said it, but one of the Wrestling podcasts I listen to said that some of Shane's opponents have been surprised at how well he works for a non wrestler. OIt was probably Kurt Angle, and probably only because he let him throw him through plexiglass 400 times.

If you're comparing it to FO4, you'll be blown away. Nothing against that one, but in my opinion it was completely blown out of the water by the Witcher on most counts. The writing is absolutely brilliant, and they've clearly put a whole lot of effort in there. It also looks absolutely beautiful. The voice did annoy me at the start, but that goes away once you get further in. The voice acting for everyone (and I mean everyone) but Geralt is spot on.

Shane vs Lesnar... not that I'm laughing at the idea itself, more what would happen during that. I know Shane's mental, but he's not that mental. It'd be like Angle vs Shane 2: Plexigass Boogaloo. Actually, I want to see that now. Yeah, it could just be in the run-up to the show, but I think they should bring it back very sparingly. You're never going to go back to the "proverbial crimson mask" days, but in the culmination of feuds it should be used for the big spots. Lesnar and Undertaker showed how to have a proper PG hell in a cell match. That's the interesting part. WWE is at its best when you can see either side coming out on top - when it's predictable it can still be good, but means that they need to put in more work. That never goes well. I did originally think Shane would go over, but with that leaked show title from post Extreme Rules suggests that they might stretch the story out until ER, then have Shane take over. I don't think they'd bring him back like this and then just have Taker win, and Shane disappear again. There's too much been put at stake.

I hate you for getting my hopes up around that But like someone else said, big omission. Surely it'll get added as part of one of the DLCs.

Or do they capitalise on what Reigns has become, and have a "face" vs face feud. let's face it, they could treat Reigns the way they have been, and he'll still pretty much be the heel in the fans eyes, and the face in the company's eyes. It doesn't really matter who goes up against him at this stage from the top of the card, they're going to get cheered. Brock, Ambrose, Kevin Owens...there isn't one person on the roster that would get booed. Have him win at Wrestlemania fair enough, but spend the night after doing the smug face routine - talk about how you're the best, and have the fans turn further. That'd be a smart decision in their current situation, which could have been completely avoided if they'd just done the sensible thing and treated Reigns like the silent badass he was in the Shield from the start. Or, you know, go absolutely mental and have Reigns spear the Rock after he wins the title and turn heel.

He'll almost certainly lose the HHH match. Actually, that's not true. He'll probably win by disqualificataion because of some dastardly heel gimmick. No way is HHH dropping it before Mania. As for Lesnar, I think they might actually have Ambrose go over there. Does Lesnar really need the win? What would it achieve? However, having them beat the absolute shit out of each other for twenty minutes, Lesnar getting most of the offense in, and then having Ambrose pick up a gutsy win would do far more. They could essentially replay the Reigns/Lesnar WM match, as Ambrose is much more believable in the role Reigns was playing. I was going to get up and watch RAW back rather than just read up what happened this morning, but glad I didn't now. Sounds like a shiter.

I thought Lesnar was in some way involved in that? Or was that spoilers when it was announced, and Lesnar is going to get involved following next week's RAW or something?

Bleacher Report has gone a bit odd and not showing their usual round-up of RAW. As such, I'm flying blind a bit. What happened at the end with Ambrose? Are we getting a title match on RAW between them? Was the Rusev Body Slam challenge a load of shite? Did they completely waste the Taker appearance? Reaction seems to be flitting between "he can get hype up with just a few words" and "well that was fucking pointless"

Personally I'd have them debut at Takeover Dallas, have them start out there. Not that it wouldn't be a big moment if they came to the main roster straight away, I just think they could make more of it, and get the chance to shine in NXT more.

Balor mentioning it first mainly. If they are going to debut, they should do so with no build-up first. Realised on reading my post back that it seemed like I said it was a waste putting it on RAW. Didn't mean that. One thing on the Balor Club thing - the T-shirt references "Bulletproof". What price on Balor building up his club, then Nakamura leading the Bullet Club in NXT? Balor vs Bullet.